Daniel 5
The Message
The Writing of a Disembodied Hand
5 1-4 King Belshazzar held a great feast for his one thousand nobles. The wine flowed freely. Belshazzar, heady with the wine, ordered that the gold and silver chalices his father Nebuchadnezzar had stolen from God’s Temple of Jerusalem be brought in so that he and his nobles, his wives and concubines, could drink from them. When the gold and silver chalices were brought in, the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines, drank wine from them. They drank the wine and drunkenly praised their gods made of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.
5-7 At that very moment, the fingers of a human hand appeared and began writing on the lamp-illumined, whitewashed wall of the palace. When the king saw the disembodied hand writing away, he went white as a ghost, scared out of his wits. His legs went limp and his knees knocked. He yelled out for the enchanters, the fortunetellers, and the diviners to come. He told these Babylonian magi, “Anyone who can read this writing on the wall and tell me what it means will be famous and rich—purple robe, the great gold chain—and be third-in-command in the kingdom.”
8-9 One after the other they tried, but could make no sense of it. They could neither read what was written nor interpret it to the king. So now the king was really frightened. All the blood drained from his face. The nobles were in a panic.
10-12 The queen heard of the hysteria among the king and his nobles and came to the banquet hall. She said, “Long live the king! Don’t be upset. Don’t sit around looking like ghosts. There is a man in your kingdom who is full of the divine Holy Spirit. During your father’s time he was well known for his intellectual brilliance and spiritual wisdom. He was so good that your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, made him the head of all the magicians, enchanters, fortunetellers, and diviners. There was no one quite like him. He could do anything—interpret dreams, solve mysteries, explain puzzles. His name is Daniel, but he was renamed Belteshazzar by the king. Have Daniel called in. He’ll tell you what is going on here.”
13-16 So Daniel was called in. The king asked him, “Are you the Daniel who was one of the Jewish exiles my father brought here from Judah? I’ve heard about you—that you’re full of the Holy Spirit, that you’ve got a brilliant mind, that you are incredibly wise. The wise men and enchanters were brought in here to read this writing on the wall and interpret it for me. They couldn’t figure it out—not a word, not a syllable. But I’ve heard that you interpret dreams and solve mysteries. So—if you can read the writing and interpret it for me, you’ll be rich and famous—a purple robe, the great gold chain around your neck—and third-in-command in the kingdom.”
17 Daniel answered the king, “You can keep your gifts, or give them to someone else. But I will read the writing for the king and tell him what it means.
18-21 “Listen, O king! The High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar a great kingdom and a glorious reputation. Because God made him so famous, people from everywhere, whatever their race, color, and creed, were totally intimidated by him. He killed or spared people on whim. He promoted or humiliated people capriciously. He developed a big head and a hard spirit. Then God knocked him off his high horse and stripped him of his fame. He was thrown out of human company, lost his mind, and lived like a wild animal. He ate grass like an ox and was soaked by heaven’s dew until he learned his lesson: that the High God rules human kingdoms and puts anyone he wants in charge.
22-23 “You are his son and have known all this, yet you’re as arrogant as he ever was. Look at you, setting yourself up in competition against the Master of heaven! You had the sacred chalices from his Temple brought into your drunken party so that you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines, could drink from them. You used the sacred chalices to toast your gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone—blind, deaf, and imbecile gods. But you treat with contempt the living God who holds your entire life from birth to death in his hand.
24-26 “God sent the hand that wrote on the wall, and this is what is written: mene, teqel, and peres. This is what the words mean:
“Mene: God has numbered the days of your rule and they don’t add up.
27 “Teqel: You have been weighed on the scales and you don’t weigh much.
28 “Peres: Your kingdom has been divided up and handed over to the Medes and Persians.”
* * *
29 Belshazzar did what he had promised. He robed Daniel in purple, draped the great gold chain around his neck, and promoted him to third-in-charge in the kingdom.
30-31 That same night the Babylonian king Belshazzar was murdered. Darius the Mede was sixty-two years old when he succeeded him as king.
Daniel 5
Expanded Bible
The Writing on the Wall
5 King Belshazzar [C along with his father, Nabonidus, the last ruler of Babylon] ·gave a big banquet [L served a large meal] for a thousand ·royal [noble; important] guests and drank wine with ·them [L the thousand]. 2 As Belshazzar ·was drinking his wine [L tasted the wine; C he was under the influence of the wine], he gave orders to bring the gold and silver cups that his ·ancestor Nebuchadnezzar [L father; predecessor; C not his literal father; v. 1] had taken from the Temple in Jerusalem [1:2]. This was so the king, his ·royal [noble; important] guests, his wives, and his ·slave women [L concubines; C secondary wives] could drink from those cups. 3 So they brought the gold cups that had been taken from the Temple of God in Jerusalem. And the king and his ·royal [noble; important] guests, his wives, and his ·slave women [L concubines; v. 2] drank from them. 4 As they were drinking, they praised their gods, which were made from gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.
5 Suddenly the fingers of a person’s hand appeared and began writing on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote.
6 ·King Belshazzar was very frightened [L The king’s thoughts terrified him]. His face turned ·white [pale], his knees knocked together, and ·he could not stand up because his legs were too weak [the strength left his legs; L his hips went loose; C the idiom may mean he wet himself]. 7 The king called loudly for the ·magicians [enchanters], ·wise men [L Chaldeans; C a group of astrologers], and ·wizards [exorcists] of Babylon and said to ·them [L the wise men of Babylon], “Anyone who can read this writing and explain ·it [L its interpretation] will be clothed in purple [C befitting a king] and have a gold chain around his neck. And I will make that person the third highest ruler in the kingdom [C after Nabonidus and Belshazzar; v. 1; Gen. 41:42; Esth. 8:15].”
8 Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or tell the king ·what it meant [its interpretation]. 9 King Belshazzar became even more ·afraid [terrified], and his face became even ·whiter [paler]. His ·royal [important; noble] guests were ·confused [agitated].
10 Then the queen [C the queen mother, since the king’s wives were already present], who had heard the ·voices [discussion] of the king and his ·royal [noble; important] guests, came into the banquet room. She said, “O king, live forever! Don’t ·be afraid [L let your thoughts terrify you] or let your face ·be white with fear [turn pale]! 11 There is a man in your kingdom who has ·the spirit of the holy gods [or a holy, divine spirit in him]. In the days of your father [v. 2], this man showed understanding, knowledge, and wisdom like the gods. Your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, put this man in charge of all the ·wise men [L Chaldeans; C a group of astrologers], ·fortune-tellers [enchanters], ·magicians [diviners], and ·wizards [exorcists]. 12 The man I am talking about is named Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar [1:7]. He ·was very wise [L has an excellent spirit] and had knowledge and understanding. He could ·explain [interpret] dreams and ·secrets [riddles] and ·could answer very hard [unravel] problems. Call for Daniel. He will tell you ·what the writing on the wall means [its interpretation].”
13 So they brought Daniel to the king, and the king asked, “Are you Daniel one of the ·captives [exiles] my father the king brought from Judah [C trying to put Daniel in his place]? 14 I have heard that ·the spirit of the gods [or a divine spirit] is in you, and that you are very wise and have knowledge and ·extraordinary [excellent] understanding. 15 The wise men and ·magicians [enchanters] were brought to me to read this writing and to explain ·what it means [its interpretation], but they could not ·explain it [give me its interpretation]. 16 I have heard that you are able to ·explain what things mean [give interpretations] and can ·find the answers to hard [unravel] problems. Read this writing on the wall and ·explain it to me [give me its interpretation]. If you can, I will clothe you in purple [C befitting a king] and give you a gold chain to wear around your neck. And you will become the third highest ruler in the kingdom [v. 7].”
17 Then Daniel answered the king, “You may keep your gifts for yourself, or you may give those rewards to someone else. But I will read the writing [C on the wall] for you and will explain to you ·what it means [its interpretation].
18 “O king, the Most High God ·made your father Nebuchadnezzar a great, important, and powerful king [L gave your father Nebuchadnezzar a kingdom, greatness, splendor, and glory]. 19 Because God made him ·important [great], all the people, nations, and ·those who spoke every language [L tongues] ·were very frightened [L trembled with fear in front] of Nebuchadnezzar. If he wanted someone to die, he killed that person. If he wanted someone to live, he let that person live. Those he wanted to ·promote [honor], he ·promoted [honored]. Those he wanted to ·be less important [abase; degrade], he ·made less important [abased; degraded].
20 “But ·Nebuchadnezzar became too proud [L his heart was exalted/lifted up] and ·stubborn [L his spirit became hard with insolence], so he was taken off his royal throne. His glory was ·taken [stripped] away. 21 He was ·forced away [driven] from people, and his mind became like the mind of an animal. He lived with the wild donkeys and was fed grass like an ox and became wet with dew. These things happened to him until he learned: The Most High God ·rules [is sovereign] over every kingdom ·on earth [L of humans], and he sets anyone he chooses over those kingdoms.
22 “Belshazzar, you, his [C Nebuchadnezzar’s] ·son [descendant; or successor; C not his literal son; v. 1], already knew these things. Still you have not ·been sorry for what you have done [L humbled your heart]. 23 Instead, you have ·set yourself [exalted yourself] against the Lord of heaven. You ordered the drinking cups from the Temple of the Lord to be brought to you. Then you and your ·royal [important; noble] guests, your wives, and your ·slave women [concubines; C secondary wives] drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone that cannot see or hear or understand anything [C they are not really gods]. You did not honor God, who has power over your ·life [very breath] and ·everything you do [all your ways]. 24 So ·God sent [L before his presence was sent] the hand that wrote.
25 “These are the words that were written: ‘Mene, mene, tekel, and parsin.’
26 “This is ·what the words mean [L the interpretation of the matter]: Mene [C “Numbered”]: God has ·counted [numbered] the days until your kingdom will end. 27 Tekel [C “Weighed”]: You have been weighed on the scales and found ·not good enough [deficient; lacking; T wanting]. 28 Parsin [C “Divided”]: Your kingdom is being divided and will be given to the Medes and the Persians [C from the Iranian plateau].”
29 Then Belshazzar gave an order for Daniel to be dressed in purple clothes [C befitting a king] and to have a gold chain put around his neck. And it was announced that Daniel was the third highest ruler in the kingdom [v. 7]. 30 That very same night Belshazzar, king of the ·Babylonian people [L Chaldeans], was killed. 31 So Darius the Mede ·became the new king [L received the kingdom] when he was sixty-two years old [C when the Persians defeated the Babylonians; 539 bc].
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.